Buddhist Rituals

5/17/14
Justin T Anderson
Modern Day Buddhist Rituals and Practices

The differences between what Buddhist have done it the past is not much different from
what they do now. Sure we have more modern Buddhist that go to work every day and go to a
Buddhist temple and meditate. But there are still the Buddhist monks that have given up
everything in the pursuit of nirvana.
The most common practices that Buddhist do are the Going for Refuge, offering homage,
calling on spiritual forces, and meditation. The first big ritual a Buddhist does is the Going for
Refuge which is accepting the Buddhist teachings into ones self. In some religions this would
be proclaiming ones allegiance to a god for protection. But Buddhism isnt a religion based
around gods so in this sense when one is Going for Refuge he isnt worshiping a deity but
teachings instead.
Offering homage to Buddha is where one pays his or hers respect to Buddha. When one
does this they have to be away from the six faults. They cant be too far or too close, being at the
front or the back, being at a high place and being against the wind.
The next common practice most Buddhist do is calling on spiritual forces through the use
of mantras. Mantras are sacred sounds with the belief that they call upon supernatural powers.
They are used most of the time for protection from evil and misfortune. To memorize most
mantras they put them down onto prayer wheels. Prayer wheels are made of a hollow metal
cylinder, often decorated with gold or red paint, and then mounted on a rod handle that contains
a tightly wound scroll that contains a mantra.
The last common practice is the meditation. This is where one concentrates on finding
ones true self to achieve enlightenment and spiritual freedom. There are two main types of
meditation. The first type is Samatha which means tranquility, now in this meditation the main
purpose is to train the mind to concentrate and not to wonder. The goal of Samatha is achieved
through 4 stages. First stage is the detachment from the external world and consciousness of joy
and tranquility. Stage two, is concentration with the suppression of all reasoning. Stage three,
there is no more joy but with a sense of tranquility remaining. Then Stage four is the passing of
tranquility bring about a state of pure self-possession and equanimity. The second type of
meditation is Vipassana which means insight, the main purpose of Vipassana is the realization of
important truths. Unlike Samatha that concentrates on an object for its focal point, Vipassana
focus on mindfulness, to block out everything and focus on one thing and learn from it. There are
three main ways people practice Vipassana, one is the walking meditation, the second is sitting
meditation, and the mindfulness of everyday activities. All three only focus on one thing at a
time, walking meditation focuses on the walking, sitting meditation focuses on the breathing, and
mindfulness of everyday activities and lives in the present instead of thinking of the future or
past.
Links:
http://www.religionfacts.com/buddhism/practices.htm
http://www.insightmeditationcenter.org/books-articles/articles/rituals-in-buddhism/